The Society of Friends (Quaker)

Exposition and defense of Quakerism

Written by Robert Barclay (1648-1690)

I met a man one day who was knowledgeable in the origins of the Quaker faith. I was intrigued by the inspiration and teachings of it's original leaders: George Fox, Susan B. Anthony, William Penn, Robert Barclay and many more. We spent a lot of time studying the initial teachings of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers).

I was enthralled. The more I learned, the more it filled in the gaps of my current knowledge. Everything made sense. This was what I had been missing and searching for. The missing pieces of the puzzle.

I have written all this to introduce my next several writings.

Robert Barclay (1648-1690) wrote his classic exposition and defense of Quakerism in Latin and published it in 1676 as "Theologiæ Vere Christianæ Apologia". He then translated his own book into English, "An Apology for the True Christian Divinity", in 1678. It was originally written and submitted to king Charles II of England in an attempt to quell the persecution Quakers were suffering at the time.

It has since been accepted as the definitive exegesis of the Quaker faith.

Over the next several weeks, or months, (however long it takes) I will go through this book section by section. I will print it directly from the 2002 translation (renowned as the most accurate from the original). I will explain and discuss each section. Then provide commentary. I pray it is as enlightening to you as it is to me.

An Apology

for the

True Christian Divinity

by

Robert Barclay

first published in 1678

reprinted 2002